A TEAM of makeshift Santas dashed through crowds to help deliver dozens of presents in time for Christmas – on a tinsel-wrapped hospital bed.
On Sunday members of the Cheshire Youth Offending Service, which operates from an office in Ellesmere Port, donned Santa suits and fluffy beards and joined hundreds of energetic residents taking part in Chester’s first-ever Santa Dash.
Crowds watched as the team of adults, who were joined by dogs dressed as Santa’s little helpers, pulled the make-shift sleigh through the city centre to raise money for the Hospice of the Good Shepherd and the children’s ward at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
The race came after teenagers from across Ellesmere Port and Chester spent weeks working around the clock to transform a disused hospital bed from the countess into a tinsel wrapped sleigh laden with gifts and presents.
Jacob Roberts, of the Youth Offending Service who took part, said that the sleigh was a credit to the youngsters who had worked hard to transform the metal bed in time for the race.
“We thought we would do the race for a bit of fun,” said Jacob, who carried the sleigh with seven other parents and staff members.
“The youngsters got a hospital bed from the countess which had been decommissioned as not fit for use and spent about two weeks doing it up into a Santa’s sleigh.”
Jacob said that the sleigh had to be transported to the starting line from their offices in Ellesmere Port where the youngsters had been transforming the worn-out bed, but luckily local business Embrace lent them a van for the day.
He added: “There were hundreds of Santa’s but we were the only ones who had a sleigh.”
